In a nautical context, the word heave refers to the action of a ship rising or lifting with the waves. The past tense is hove, and if a boat hove into view, it slowly came into sight, as if gradually appearing on the horizon. This is part of a...
Liam in San Francisco, California, emailed to share a passage from Donna Tartt’s novel, The Secret History (Bookshop|Amazon). It’s a sensuous description of the sights, sounds, and smells of autumn in Vermont. This is part of a complete...
Why do subdivisions and office complexes have names invoking landscapes and animals that don’t exist there? A Fort Wayne, Indiana, listener got to wondering about this after passing the “Bay View Apartments” in her hometown: there’s not...
caravanger n.— Note: A blend of “caravan” and “anger.” «Tensions have been increased with the coining of the term “caravanger” to describe car drivers’ likely reaction to having more caravans to...
rage cage n.— «So another grant from the NSW Premier’s Department and the council in 2003 financed at the back of the estate a “rage cage”—a small cement court with a basketball ring and soccer goal. Parents have taken to...
doughnutter n.— «John (now Lord) Wakeham, the lead Minister in the negotiations, took my point that the Government should seek to persuade MPs to start more rather than less restrictively since they could always ease up in the light of...